RESEARCH ARTICLE Circulating Betatrophin Is Strongly Increased in Pregnancy and Gestational Diabetes

Aims/hypothesis Betatrophin has recently been introduced as a novel hormone and promotor of beta cell pro-liferation and improved glucose tolerance in mouse models of insulin resistance. In obese and diabetic humans altered levels were reported and a role in pathophysiology of meta-bolic diseases was therefore hypothesized. However its release and regulation in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), as well as its associations with markers of obesity, glucose and lipid metabolism during pregnancy still remain unclear. Methods Circulating betatrophin was quantified in 21 women with GDM and 19 pregnant body mass index-matched women with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) as well as 10 healthy age-matched non-pregnant women by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Additionally we performed radioimmunassay (RIA) to confirm the results. Results Betatrophin concentrations measured by ELISA were significantly higher in GDM than i